Land Administration, Spatial Systems and Cities – an Australian Perspective

The paper argues that any spatial information strategy for urban, local government or city jurisdiction is intimately linked to and influenced by the state or national land administration and cadastral systems where it is located. It is these state or national systems which usually provide the spatial infrastructure for urban information systems. Therefore to understand current trends in urban information systems, changes and trends in state and national land administration systems must also be understood. The paper addresses this topic by exploring the changing humankind-land relationship and the global drivers of sustainable development, micro-economic reform, globalisation and technology, with emphasis on Australian state spatial information systems. It draws on research being undertaken at the University of Melbourne to highlight some of the trends and issues.